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Test automation lead vs software test engineer

The differences between test automation leads and software test engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a test automation lead and a software test engineer. Additionally, a test automation lead has an average salary of $89,324, which is higher than the $85,338 average annual salary of a software test engineer.

The top three skills for a test automation lead include java, scrum and jira. The most important skills for a software test engineer are python, java, and test automation.

Test automation lead vs software test engineer overview

Test Automation LeadSoftware Test Engineer
Yearly salary$89,324$85,338
Hourly rate$42.94$41.03
Growth rate--
Number of jobs43,456243,382
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

Test automation lead vs software test engineer salary

Test automation leads and software test engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Test Automation LeadSoftware Test Engineer
Average salary$89,324$85,338
Salary rangeBetween $69,000 And $115,000Between $63,000 And $115,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Mateo, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyCitiApple
Best paying industryUtilitiesTelecommunication

Differences between test automation lead and software test engineer education

There are a few differences between a test automation lead and a software test engineer in terms of educational background:

Test Automation LeadSoftware Test Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaCalifornia State University - Long Beach

Test automation lead vs software test engineer demographics

Here are the differences between test automation leads' and software test engineers' demographics:

Test Automation LeadSoftware Test Engineer
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 78.0% Female, 22.0%Male, 68.6% Female, 31.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between test automation lead and software test engineer duties and responsibilities

Test automation lead example responsibilities.

  • Enter the defects into JIRA and manages the resolution and documentation of these defects.
  • Perform inter-departmental audits documenting ISO compliant results with associate corrective action requests in order to achieve company-wide certification.
  • Used JIRA for creating and tracking defects.
  • Establish connection between automation scripts and PostgreSQL / DB2 to validate UI applications.
  • Involve in writing functional test cases in java language for every feature of product.
  • Coordinate communication between QA, development, BA's, UAT, and upper management throughout the entire QA cycle.
  • Show more

Software test engineer example responsibilities.

  • Balance risk, regulatory impact and business needs to achieve efficient and effective solutions for QC process improvement.
  • Manage entire Linux virtual machine farm utilizing KVM and Virt-Manager
  • Manage test case defect management reporting utilizing JIRA and Bugzilla
  • Develop UI automation test infrastructure using python and selenium.
  • Design test scripts using Java and participate in automation code-reviews.
  • Involve in integrating the test suites to Jenkins to execute them automatically after every successful deployment.
  • Show more

Test automation lead vs software test engineer skills

Common test automation lead skills
  • Java, 8%
  • Scrum, 5%
  • Jira, 5%
  • QA, 4%
  • Automation Framework, 4%
  • API, 4%
Common software test engineer skills
  • Python, 9%
  • Java, 7%
  • Test Automation, 6%
  • C++, 6%
  • C #, 6%
  • Regression, 4%

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